Design of Steel Bridges: Components and Classification

Design of Steel Bridges
‫ وليد أبو الوفا‬.‫د‬ waboelwafa15@gmail.com www.facebook.com/StrEngDrWaleed
Components and classification

‫ وليد أبو الوفا محمد‬.‫د‬
Components of bridges
What is a bridge ?
A bridge is a structure built to span a valley, road,
railroad track, river, body of water, or any other
physical obstacle.
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Components of Bridge Structures
The bridge structure consists of the following components:
 Superstructure or decking component
 Bearings (may be considered as superstructure)
 Substructure Component
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Superstructure Components of Bridges
 The superstructure of the bridge structure

consists of deck slab, girder, truss etc.
 These components vary based on the type of

bridge (whether concrete or steel or composite).
 Superstructure of the bridge bears the load

passing over it.
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Bearings in Bridges
 The loads received by the decks are
properly and safely transmitted to the
substructure with the help of bearings.
 These are components of bridge that
enables even distribution of load on the
substructure material.
 This transmission is very essential in
situations where the substructure is not
designed to take the load action directly.
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Bearings in Bridges
The selection of bearing is dependent on

certain parameters, which are:
 Loads
 Geometry
 Maintenance
 Clearance available
 The displacement, rotation and deflection
Preference of the designer
 The cost criteria. 12
Bearings in Bridges
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Substructure Components of Bridges
The components involved in substructure of

bridges are:
 Piers
 Abutments
 Wing Walls and the Returns
 Foundation
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Piers
The piers are vertical structures used to

support deck or the bearings provided for
load transmission to underground soil
through foundation.
The pier structure has mainly two functions:
1.Load transmission to the Foundation
2.Resistance to the horizontal forces
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Piers
Most of the cases, piers are designed to resist

the vertical loads alone.
In areas which lie in the seismic zone, it is

recommended to design the pier for lateral
loads also.
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Piers
 Most of the piers are constructed using

concrete.
 Steel for the construction of pier is used in very
few cases till now.
 Use of composite columns i.e. steel columns
filled with concrete is used as new technology
of pier construction.
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Piers
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Piers
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Abutments
The abutments are also subjected to

lateral pressures mainly from the
approach embankment. The design
loads on the abutment is mainly
dependent on the:
• Type of abutment selected
• The sequence of construction
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Abutments
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Abutments
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Parapets and Handrails/ Guard Rails
 These components of bridges are not of

structural importance, but provided for the
safety concerns.
 These are provided above the decks.
 This will help in prevention of the vehicle
from falling off the bridge into the water
body below or as a means for the
separation of traffic streams.
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Parapets and Handrails/ Guard Rails
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Foundation of Bridges
Foundation are structures constructed to

transmit the load from the piers, abutments and
wing walls to the soil.
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Classification of bridges
1. Classification according to purpose of the bridge
A bridge can be designed for:
 Trains,
 Road traffic,
 Pedestrian,
 A pipeline,
 Barge traffic,
 An aqueduct
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Train bridges
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Road traffic bridges
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Pedestrian bridge
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Pipeline bridge
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Barge traffic bridge
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Barge traffic bridge
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2. Classification of bridges by materials
A bridge can be classified into

• wood bridges
• Concrete bridges
• Steel bridges
However, a combination of materials is used in bridge
construction. For example, a bridge may have a
reinforced concrete deck and steel main girders.
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Wood bridges
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Concrete bridges
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Steel bridges
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3. Classification according to structural system
i) Bridges Carrying Loads Mainly by Bending
a- Beam bridges
b- Frame bridges
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Beam Bridges
 Beam bridges are the most common and the

simplest type of bridges.
 Beam bridges may use statically determinate

beams (simply supported or cantilever beams,
or continuous beams.
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Beam Bridges
 Simply supported beams are usually adopted

only for very small spans (up to 25m).
 Continuous beams are one of the most common

types of bridge. Spans for this system may vary
from short (less than 20 m) to medium (20 - 50
m) or long spans (> 100 m)
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Beam Bridges
 In medium and long spans, continuous beams

with variable depth section are very often
adopted for reasons of structural behavior,
economy and aesthetics.
 These systems are suitable for bridge spans up to

200 m for solid web girders and up to 300 m for
truss girders.
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Beam Bridges
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Beam Bridges
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Beam Bridges (truss type)
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Frame Bridges
 Frame bridges are one of the possible alternatives

to continuous beams.
 Avoiding bearings and providing a good structural

system to support horizontal longitudinal loads, e.g.
earthquakes, frames have been adopted in modern
bridge either with vertical piers or with inclined
columns
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Frame Bridges
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Frame Bridges
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3. Classification according to structural system
ii) Bridges Carrying Loads by axial force

This type can be divided into:
 Bridges in which the primary axial forces

are compressive as arches.
 Bridges in which these forces are tensile,

as suspension bridges and cable-stayed
bridges 48
Arch bridges
 An arch bridge is a semicircular structure with

abutments on each end.
 The design of the arch, the semicircle, naturally

diverts the weight from the bridge deck to the
abutments.
 The span of an arch bridge may reach up to 500

m. 49
Arch bridges
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Arch bridges
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Arch bridges
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Arch bridges
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Arch bridges
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Suspension bridges
ii) Bridges Carrying Loads Mainly by axial force
b- Suspension bridge
 A suspension bridge is a type of bridge where the

main load-carrying elements are hung from
suspension cables. Suspension bridges have two
tall towers through which the cables are strung.
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Suspension bridges
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Suspension bridges
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Suspension bridges
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Cable stayed bridge
 A simpler form of cable bridges has been used-

Cable stayed bridges.
 They have been used for a range of spans, generally

between 100 m and 500 m, where the suspension
bridge is not an economical solution.
 Cable stayed bridges may be used with a deck made

of concrete or in steel.
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Cable stayed bridge
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4. Classification of bridges by span
In bridge engineering, it is customary to identify

bridges according to their span lengths as short span,
medium span, and long span. A common practice is to
classify bridges by span lengths as follows:
 Short-span bridges less than 50 m

 Medium-span bridges 50 to 200 m
 Long-span bridges Over 200 m
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5. Classification of bridges by position
 Most bridges are fixed in place.
 However, to provide sufficient vertical clearance to

facilitate navigation through spanned waterways,
bridges are made movable; i.e., the bridge
superstructure changes its position relative to the
roads that they link.
 In general, three kinds of movable bridges exist:

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5. Classification of bridges by position
 The bascule bridge, which has a rotational

motion in the vertical plane
 The lift bridge, which has a translational

motion in the vertical plane
 The swing bridge, which has a rotational

motion in the horizontal plane
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Bascule bridge
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Lift bridge
Bascule Bridge
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Swing bridge
lift bridge
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Design of Steel Bridges

‫ وليد أبو الوفا‬.‫د‬ waboelwafa15@gmail.com www.facebook.com/StrEngDrWaleed

Components and classification

A bridge is a structure built to span a valley, road,

railroad track, river, body of water, or any other

The bridge structure consists of the following components:

 Superstructure or decking component

 Bearings (may be considered as superstructure)

 The superstructure of the bridge structure

 These components vary based on the type of

 Superstructure of the bridge bears the load

The selection of bearing is dependent on

The components involved in substructure of

The piers are vertical structures used to

Most of the cases, piers are designed to resist

In areas which lie in the seismic zone, it is

 Most of the piers are constructed using

The abutments are also subjected to

 These components of bridges are not of

Foundation are structures constructed to

A bridge can be designed for:

A bridge can be classified into

i) Bridges Carrying Loads Mainly by Bending

 Beam bridges are the most common and the

 Beam bridges may use statically determinate

 Simply supported beams are usually adopted

 Continuous beams are one of the most common

 In medium and long spans, continuous beams

 These systems are suitable for bridge spans up to

 Frame bridges are one of the possible alternatives

 Avoiding bearings and providing a good structural

ii) Bridges Carrying Loads by axial force

 Bridges in which the primary axial forces

 Bridges in which these forces are tensile,

 An arch bridge is a semicircular structure with

 The design of the arch, the semicircle, naturally

 The span of an arch bridge may reach up to 500

ii) Bridges Carrying Loads Mainly by axial force

 A suspension bridge is a type of bridge where the

 A simpler form of cable bridges has been used-

 They have been used for a range of spans, generally

 Cable stayed bridges may be used with a deck made

In bridge engineering, it is customary to identify

 Short-span bridges less than 50 m

 Most bridges are fixed in place.

 However, to provide sufficient vertical clearance to

 In general, three kinds of movable bridges exist:

 The bascule bridge, which has a rotational

 The lift bridge, which has a translational

 The swing bridge, which has a rotational

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